Albrecht von Roon

Albrecht von Roon (30 April 1803-23 February 1879) was the Minister of War of Prussia from 1859 to 1873. A conservative and reactionary supporter of the monarchy, he worked hard to modernize the Prussian Army, and he played a key role in the victories during the Second Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War.

Biography
Albrecht von Roon was born in Pleushagen, Prussia (now Plesna, Poland) on 30 April 1803 to a family of Flemish descent. He entered the Prussian Army in 1821, and he entered the General Staff in 1835 before becoming chief-of-staff of the VIII Corps at Koblenz in 1848. He assisted in the suppression of the Baden Revolution that year, and he became a full colonel in 1851, a Major-General in 1856, and a Lieutenant-General in 1859. That same year, he was made Minister of War, and he oversaw the modernization of the army. After the Second Schleswig War of 1864, he went from being a disliked figure to a national hero, and he also played a key role in the victory against the Austrian Empire during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1873, and he died in Berlin in 1879.